Well Known Pikeman

- Congrats to BacT! Obviously demonstrating a very high level of skill recently and I can't wait to see him compete!

- Regarding all the caster talk, I totally understand that people are disappointed that Zak/T90/KillerB can't make it. They are three of the best casters we have after all. Hopefully my casting will be an acceptable substitute :P

- With that said, I think all three have very valid reasons for choosing to not go. Sometimes life unfortunately gets in the way of AoE2 grassSad

- Regarding myself, I am super glad that Nili is giving a relative unknown like me the opportunity to travel and meet/cast these amazing players. I've always enjoyed casting with Nili and Memb, and I'm sure casting with Turkman will be a blast!

Active Member

- Congrats to BacT! Obviously demonstrating a very high level of skill recently and I can't wait to see him compete!

- Regarding all the caster talk, I totally understand that people are disappointed that Zak/T90/KillerB can't make it. They are three of the best casters we have after all. Hopefully my casting will be an acceptable substitute :P

- With that said, I think all three have very valid reasons for choosing to not go. Sometimes life unfortunately gets in the way of AoE2 grassSad

- Regarding myself, I am super glad that Nili is giving a relative unknown like me the opportunity to travel and meet/cast these amazing players. I've always enjoyed casting with Nili and Memb, and I'm sure casting with Turkman will be a blast!

Before NAC2 was announced Nili asked me if I would like to attend and it was an immediate yes. The first NAC I was disappointed I couldn't be involved and to get the invite for NAC2 was incredibly exciting. I was pumped. I told everyone, Nili announced it in his video and this thread, and all was good. At the time there were no details on the amount of time I would spend there and what would be required of me etc. In hindsight this should have been discussed prior to letting the community know that I would be going. Obviously you all know now we ended up discussing it more recently and couldn't see eye to eye on things. Long story short I found out that 12 days attendance was required which I could not justify.

I'm normally not the type of guy to keep things quiet and I'm usually pretty transparent. But here I'm not going to go through my list of reasons and thought process behind not attending. I can tell you that it's not purely financial as many people seem to think. There are a few factors. No offense to anyone reading this but it's not going to make any positive changes to post it here. There is already enough speculation that is incorrect, trying to explain myself would only bring up emotions that I have been trying deeply to avoid. I discussed it all with friends, family, and close people in the AoE2 Community prior to my discussions with Nili. Considering all the factors in my situation I could only justify being away for a week maximum. Nili would like people to commit to 12 days which just doesn't fit. That is where we are and despite how upset I am not to be going, I can sleep at night knowing I've made the right call.

I never shed tears for this game until it turned out I wasn't going. For months I was planning on being there and so this all came as a shock to me. Every AoE2 meetup I have attended has been a dream, and I consider the players and people who will be at NAC2 like family to me. Many fans and followers were pumped to meet me there. This wasn't a decision I made lightly. This hasn't been easy for a second.

I understand that it's a sign of a strong community to have people discussing these types of things. It shows that people care and that people are involved in the scene, and this I appreciate. But MAN is it hard to see people question my judgement and character over something they are not informed on, and that I am still distraught over. I suppose this is something I should expect to see as someone in my position but it's not easy. This wasn't easy for anyone. You might not understand where I come from but I made the decision that was best, even while heartbreaking. Nili did the same.

Nili has gone another direction now with BBQTurkman and Ornlu and I am sure he wants the conversation to be about that. Bact has qualified, another qualifier is currently running. Let's shift the focus more forward. Some of us can't be there and people are sad about it, sure. But it is what it is now. Out of respect for those involved I'd ask that we shift the focus away from what is already decided and instead look forward. NAC2 deserves that. I'm happy for everyone that can participate and I hope they have a great time. niliEnergy

Two handed swordman

BacT: I was unable to get a visa to travel to Germany
zuviss: A trusted individual suggested that it is a possibility that BacT was seemingly unable to acquire the necessary documents to permit visiting Germany. Can an official source confirm or refute these vague, uncertain whispers?